Why would you want to jump out of a perfectly good plane?

Because it feels AMAZING!

On the weekend, W & I did Stage 1 of the Accelerated Freefall Skydiving course in Nagambie.

- Friday night, I was worried;
- Saturday lunchtime, I was more worried - I'd just signed a form saying 'Skydiving is DANGEROUS' and our instructor spent 2 hours explaining all the parachute malfunctions that could occur;
- Saturday evening, I felt a little better - the 'drills' were finally starting to set in;
- Sunday morning, it was too late to back out now!!!

Being the lightest, I was the first to jump (yes, I was their test windsock), so there was no time to think about it too much. I changed into the jumpsuit and put on the pack - then was told to change into a different jumpsuit and different pack. I have to say, the cameraperson did try, but I wasn't a very good interviewee, giving only 1 word answers.

Before I knew it, we were up in the air. The experienced Supafly guys had jumped and I was backing towards the door. Once at the door, I just ran through the drills and with a mighty 'Arch thousand', I was out the window with 2 instructors holding onto either side of me.

The feeling of the wind against your face is unbelievable - I'm sure I looked like a goldfish, opening and closing my mouth, which was uncomfortably dry. The 50 seconds of freefall absolutely flew. I tried to take in the scenery while doing the drills, but too soon, it was time to pull the pin.

After a 'tongue-poke' to the left and right, at 4000 feet, I pulled the pin and shot up into the air (well, that's what it felt like, as my instructors were still in freefall).

With the drills still in my head, I tried to check the three S's (shape, size, slider), but got my head stuck in the lines trying to look up. I pulled my head out, then realised I hadn't checked the shape at all! So I squeezed my head back through, and suddenly, the lines untwisted and all was right. I'd had tangled lines (a common minor malfunction) and hadn't even noticed!

From then on, almost all my work was done. I located the arrow in the paddock and followed the directions from the target assistant to land. I was racing through the sky, but as I got lower, the wind was much calmer and I stopped racing. I was enjoying the view so much, I didn't realise that I wasn't quite going to make it back to the designated paddock... then I saw my instructor waving his arms at me - and he was nowhere near where they were supposed to land me! I had a slightly hard landing, as I was directed to flare too early, but very happy that I'd made it to the ground!

The rest of the day was spent watching the others jump and land - one guy didn't do any drills and instructors had to pull his pin; another girl used her reserve as the parachute didn't look right. W (the heaviest) was last and remembered everything, although he took home some painful looking bruises.

So now, I just have to find the time and money to go back... and do the whole 10 stages...?